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Astitch
Astich (formally spelled as ASStitch) was an American alternative metal supergroup from Ponca City, Oklahoma. The band joined in 1993 and became fully established later that year. They started off as an underground metal band, but rose to prominence in 2000 after landing a record deal with London-Sire, and garnered more popularity after moving to Roadrunner Records. The band broke up in 2008 due to their brand of music no longer being deemed commercially acceptable, as well as trouble with Roadrunner. The band was best remembered for its large roster of members, enabling the band to replicate studio recordings live with grander precision while keeping alternates on hand. They were also the only major metal act from Oklahoma. History The band was conceived in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was the brainchild of Trina Riffin, and was envisioned when she was in her sophomore year. Riffin was uncertain of what direction she wanted to take her life when she graduated. She hosted an open mic night at a local cafe and was encouraged to go into music herself after a series of successful performances done by her. Riffin answered an ad in a local paper by future members Sandra Le Blanc and Birch Small, who were looking for two additional members to start a band of their own. Riffin was accepted after bonding with Le Blanc and Small over music and personal interests. They originally performed under the name Uprise, doing cover songs, and gradually garnered a small following. They left Ontario to pursue gigs in the US. It was there that they began making their own material and adopting a metal sound. They took residence in Ponca City, Oklahoma, choosing to do so because of the state having virtually no metal scene at the time, giving them leverage in getting noticed. During a performance at Stillwell High School, they did a set with the Plano, Texas based Frantic and clicked with the members. They performed together to experiment on the usage of multiple members, and following the success of it, they decided to merge their bands together to explore more artistic possibilities in their music. They changed their name to Astitch once they were fully established and began searching for record deals. The name Astitch was inspired a nihilistic man who had his buttcheeks sewn together as a means of self-torment, someone the band heard about via word of mouth. The band became recognized following a collaboration with Fred Durst in 1998. He offered to sign them to Flip Records, but they passed on the deal due to not getting along well with other acts signed. The band signed to No Name Management a year after and soon got picked up by London Records, who around that time was merged with Sire Records and became London-Sire Records. The shift led to a strained relationship with the label, furthered by a lack of promotion on their first professional effort. They responded by leaving the label and taking Roadrunner up on an offer to join their label, but since they were still under their contract to London-Sire, they co-released their next album with Roadrunner. For their next album, they teamed up with Rob Caggiano and GGGarth. It became their most recognized release, garnering favorable reviews, but undersold due to the album coming out five days shy of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The band went quiet following a performance with Fear Factory, Machine Head, 36 Crazyfists and Sepultura in 2002. They resurfaced with what would ultimately be their final release. In 2004, tensions became clear between the band and their label, coming to a heed when Roadrunner released a greatest hits compilation without their consent in 2007. They unsuccessfully tried suing the label, failing to note the agreements made in their contract. The band left Roadrunner soon after and went on hiatus to focus on securing a new record deal. In late-2008, the band announced on their MySpace page that they broke up. Among their reasons was failure in finding a new record label as well as the changing landscape of the music industry. The band refused to play independently due to starting at a moderately young age and having no day jobs to fall back on, as well as the fact that many of them dropped out of school after getting signed to a major label. In spite of no longer being active, the band still receives recognition in Oklahoma for being the first major metal band from the state. They also received a resurgence of popularity following the election of President Donald Trump in 2016, where they associate the content in the band's songs (notably Conten(m)pt) with events that occurred following his inauguration. Style Genres the band were classified under included alternative metal, nu metal, groove metal and industrial metal. Riffin cites White Zombie, The Residents, Yes, Acid Bath, The Smiths and Alice in Chains as her prime influences. The band was frequently compared to Tool, Slipknot and Mudvayne in terms of presentation and structure. Their songs were notable for attacking communism and anti-capitalist beliefs, topics that were rarely tackled by other artists in that fashion. The band took to extreme demonstrations to voice their viewpoints, which included burning communist regalia, firing guns such as in a skit that mocked Tim Commerford during the 2000 MTV Music Awards and going after prominent anti-capitalist celebrities, with a prime focus on how they're treated to luxuries in the realm of capitalism, and that they're not truly genuine when they stress their importance in their movements. Members Trina Riffin: lead vocals/rapping Sandra Le Blanc: lead vocals Hortense Dodge: guitar Sam Sharp: guitar Laura Powers: guitar Melissa Mipson: bass guitar Tambry Camacho: drums Birch Small: keyboard Wendy Coudoroy: samples, electronics, keyboard Shauna Chalmers: keytar Dana Hagblom: percussion Julia Demeke: percussion Releases Albums * Sir Eats a Lot (1998) * Exile (2000) * Conten(m)pt (2001) * Rest (2003) Demos/EPs * Mendable (1993) * Mind Hive (1994) * Lower Crust (1996) * ...it's for the yearbook (1997)